DOT MATRIX PRINTERS

Dot matrix printers use a set of closely spaced pins and a ribbon to print letters or other characters on a page Dot matrix printers operate much like a typewriter unlike laser printers or inkjet printers these impact the page to print a character This allows you to print through multipart forms rather than just printing on the top sheet

Dot matrix printers are used for printing invoices purchase orders shipping forms labels and other multipart forms Dot matrix printers can print through multipart forms in a single pass allowing them to produce more pages than even highspeed laser printers

You may already have a budget in mind as to how much you would like to spend Dot Matrix printers range from Rs 6 235 to Rs 1 72 695

This refers to the actual number of small metal pins on the printer head which strike on the ribbon and then on the paper to print a character A printer can have either 9 metal pins or 24 metal pins The print resolution of the printout taken by a 29pin printer is higher as compared to the one taken by a 9pin print head If you are very keen on quality print outs the 24pin dot matrix is a good option

Print speed
Print speed is the number of copies of paper or any other print media that the printer is capable of printing per minute Remember that print speeds vary with different modes of colour different settings of print quality and different sizes of paper Draft quality mode is an economical mode which does not give you an excellent quality output and hence prints faster than the letter quality mode This is fine for printing internal documents and taking print outs where quality of the type is not so important If you need to use the printer only for text purposes then speed is an important factor to consider Here the speed is mentioned in terms of A4 size paper normal letterhead size Draft quality 12 cpi prints in a bigger font size but takes longer to print than Draft quality 10 cpi Letter quality mode gives betterlooking printouts but is slower as compared to the draft quality mode

The extra fast speed More than 401 cps Draft Mode is for only text printouts and the Fast speed of 251 to 400 cps as well as the regular speed of 250 cps and below is for black and white text and graphics

Printing copies
This refers to the number of carbon copies the printer can print of the original This feature eliminates the need to manually keep giving print commands and is a very good option for people who generally require taking multiple copies of documents You can take the right decision depending upon the number of carbon copies you would normally require taking of documents

Print size
This refers to the number of columns a printer can print on a paper Dotmatrix printers offer two options 136 columns and 80 columns The choices depend upon your needs If you require printing large reports and worksheets you obviously need a 132column printer whereas if your output requirements are never going to be larger than a4 legal you can do with an 80column printer

INKJET PRINTERS

Printers use different technology to print Inkjet printers use a technology in which the ink slides on the paper in a manner similar to ink pen on paper Bubble jet technology uses ink bubbles for printing In piezoelectric technology the ink in the ink chamber is first charged before it is transferred on the paper Thermal inkjet printer uses heat to transfer an impression onto paper

You may already have a budget in mind as to how much you would like to spend Inkjet printers range from Rs 2 995 to Rs 35 000 depending upon the print speed and the print resolution

Print speed
Print speed is the number of copies of paper or any other print media that a printer is capable of printing per minute Printer speeds vary with different modes of colour different settings of print quality and different sizes of paper Remember that black text printing is faster than colour printing and graphics printing

Extra Fast 11 or more prints If you use the printer only for text purposes

Fast 7 to 10 prints Normal 7 or less prints For a graphics designer where the quality of printout is of importance

Print resolution
Resolution is the number of dots printed per inch dpi on paper and the more the dots per inch the sharper and clearer is the image and hence better is the quality of the print If you are buying a printer especially for printing brochures or posters he needs to look at the maximum resolution
It is recommended that a highresolution figure should not form the basis of your buying decision you need to actually see the printouts from the machine you intend to buy All manufacturers provide print samples on request and this will let you determine the effectiveness of the resolution Only by seeing the results of this kind will you be able to make a fair judgment

Maximum paper size
The maximum paper size is the largest size of paper the printer can print on or the maximum size of paper the printer can accommodate in the roller for printing This is a feature to be considered if your work requires you to print on a variety of paper sizes To give you a rough idea an A4 normal letterhead size paper measures 11 75inches x 8 25inches an A3 sized paper measures 16 50 inches x 11 75 inches